Karen "Teresa Jane" Levanway

Karen “Teresa Jane” was born to Peter and Lillian Balbi in Brooklyn, New York on October 7, 1953. Her parents moved to Brentwood, New York when she was young.  She had four siblings:  Joseph, Peter, James, and Lauren. Karen would speak fondly of her brother, Peter, who would protect her on the streets of New York when she was a young girl. She also loved her German Shepard, Shotsy, her personal body guard.

She attended Brentwood High School where she learned draping in fabric design and then went to the State University of New York at Oneonta where she majored in Mathematics and minored in Art.  She continued her interest in fashion design by producing Renaissance period costumes for a Shakespearean production. She also excelled in the making of pottery.  College prepared her for teaching in primary education where she worked in a public school and later would homeschool all of her six children.

In college, she took a job as a Residence Advisor at Phippy Hall. It was there that she had the job of supervising activities in the dorm. One evening a group of students were having a gathering in a study area of the dorm, talking and singing with guitar.  Thinking they didn’t have permission to hold a meeting there, she attempted to clear the area, but a guy named Bert (her future husband) explained that he had gotten permission from the dorm director. 

Soon Karen herself was attending the Inter-Varsity styled prayer meeting in the study lounge. While there, she learned about the love, sacrifice and forgiveness of Jesus and decided to give her life to Him as her Savior. Karen was devoted to her faith in Jesus and shared what she learned with her family. Both of her parents came to know Jesus and so did two of her brothers and her little sister. 

She continued to get to know Bert, and together they took a multi-culture folk dance course, which strengthened what would become a life-long love of dancing just for the fun of it, and her love for Bert. She remembered fondly the two years of friendship they shared before being married, and said their friendship grew deeper with each passing year. Together they helped found Community Gospel Christian Church in the Oneonta area, which is still functioning today. 

Karen and Bert, [Albert Levanway], had a bicentennial wedding in Oneonta, New York, on July 3, 1976.  Karen gave birth to five boys, helped build a home and barn, and enjoyed country living on 17 acres of hillside woodland for 18 years. Russell, Elias, Lucas, Jared, and Ethan dwelt there in their early years. Alissa Christine joined the family by adoption. Karen and her husband have worked to pass on their faith to follow Jesus to their children, as faith has been an important part of her life.

Karen was also passionate about the unborn and the forgotten. She spoke with care and love to many mothers considering the future of their unborn baby. She was an advocate for the Right to Life movement, and participated in and won debates against Planned Parenthood. She was a key organizer for defunding that organization in Otsego County.

Karen was multi-talented to say the least. She was campaign manager for Dr. Robert Barstow when he ran against Sherwood Boehlert in the 25th congressional district of New York in 1986. She was a kind, helpful and dedicated wife. She was proud of her Italian heritage and would playfully speak with the accent to other “Paisans.” She was known to all to be a good listener. She was a wonderful mother whose success in life she ensured with an ever-available listening ear and warm hugs for her kids. 

Karen located a small ranch that could be leased in Arroyo Grande, California to which the family moved in 1996. She continued to homeschool and enjoyed many warm friendships among the local support group and Agape Christian Church. With her husband, she hosted many home Bible studies, welcoming families to their home with open arms. Her spirit of hospitality showed at every holiday and family gathering. She loved to cook traditional Italian pasta and sample new cuisine. Her Thanksgiving menu was an all day event with many days of cooking preparation going into it. 

Karen was deeply delighted with the many accomplishments of her children as they grew up; graduating high school, attending colleges, starting businesses, learning trade skills, and traveling, to list just a few. She also enjoyed traveling to beautiful locations and to visit her children and grandchildren. 

Her excellent math skills developed into an adept understanding of the financial market, where she achieved some success. She continued to have her pulse on the political activities in our nation, frequently explaining passionately the solution to the problems facing us today. 

In spite of being health conscious and enjoying overall good health, she succumbed to Alzheimers disease which took her life at the age of 71 on July 8, 2025.  She passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus, while family were present at her bedside. 

Karen is preceded in death by her parents Peter and Lillian Balbi, and her brother James Balbi. She is survived by her husband Albert Levanway; her six children, Russell (Sheila) Levanway, Elias (Wendy) Levanway, Lucas (Brooke) Levanway, Jared (Katelen) Levanway, Ethan Levanway, and Alissa (Tanis) Lawson; her ten grandchildren, Adalaide, Alayna, Audrey, Aviah, Jadon, Josiah, Lena, Selah, Xander, and Zoya; and her siblings, Joseph Balbi, Peter (Loretta) Balbi, and Lauren Balbi.

In honor of her final wishes, Karen’s remains will be spread over the Pacific Ocean.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Agape Church may be made by following this link (https://agapeslo.church/give). 

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 23rd, 2025 at 4:00 pm at Agape Church, 950 Laureate Lane, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405.  

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